Environmental Vecs
Environmental vecs managing alluvial deposition on Ouaddai Ringworld;
in general, the landscapes on most megastructures require constant management
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Environmental VecsEnvironmental vecs managing alluvial deposition on Ouaddai Ringworld; in general, the landscapes on most megastructures require constant management |
A class of vecs
used to impose control on the unpredictability of
planetary environments but integrating the vec or vecs into the
planetary environment, normally in a way that allows them to guide and
shape pre-existing natural processes rather than simply ride rough-shod
over them. Most Environmental Vecs have developed from sub-sophont
machines that made up (and on many worlds still make up) the broad
class of Environmental Bots.
The most widely-known type of Environmental Vec are the Adumbrans
(or
Cloud-Vecs). Other types of environmental vecs include ones to control
and regulate water flow, in both river and ocean environments, vec
windbreaks, and vec tectonic controllers, used to regulate the activity
of both volcanoes and earthquake zones.
Environmental Vecs often form part of a planetary Angelnet. In
some
cases all of these environmental vecs form part of a single sophont
individual, which regulates an entire planetary environment in a
seamless and integrated manner. Others form part or parts of Gardenmind
AIs, AIs who manage the systems for a hab or a terraformed or highly
modified planetary environment. Some Gardenminds are modosophonts who
use subsidiary expert programs for the smaller projects and
transapients for the larger or more complicated areas, with
Environmental Vecs working as their agents, in some cases via
subservient Gardenmind(s). Some Gardenminds are Environmental Vecs.
On a minority of worlds where they have been used, Environmental Vecs
have become the dominant sophont, with different types warring with one
another over the optimal path for the environment to take, or simply
for resources, such as sunlight. In many cases worlds of this type
become very hostile to sophont life, appearing to be a colony world
that is devoid of sophont bionts, but with lots of well-maintained
technology and habitations which react in ... interesting ways to
bionts that disturb the biosphere.
